Idea Five
by 11235
Summary: When Ranma is crippled learning the Neko-Ken, Genma is forced to turn to more esoteric arts to heal Ranma. Ranma learns magic, and a bunch of stuff happens. Title is temporary, until I think of a better one.
1. Prologue

Quick Note: I'm having a lot of trouble with my other story. I thought some practice would do me well, and I liked it, so I'm uploading it. The title isn't "Idea Five"- it is just the fifth idea on my list. I'll change the title when I think of one.

Idea Five

Prologue

Genma Saotome's days were numbered.

He had been so sure of himself. So sure that he could train his son to be an unstoppable fighter, a true "man among men." To that end, he had taken his son on a training trip from the moment he could walk, and had trained him hard for the past five years, had subjected him to no end of insane training, and had even arranged dozens of marriages for when he was older. But, with one mistake, one lapse in judgement, all of his efforts had come to naught.

Ranma was crippled. A couple of hours of being ravaged by cats had destroyed his legs. Genma had been forced to take him to the hospital. Though he had managed to break Ranma out once he was better, and before he had been taken by Child Services, his injuries were now on record. He knew it was only a matter of time before news reached Nodoka.

He needed to find a way to fix Ranma. Fixing his legs was a task beyond the reach of medical science. As far as his doctors were concerned, he would never walk again. In this state, Ranma's options were limited. Certainly, he could not live the life as a martial artist that Genma had envisioned for him. The schools of the Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu could not be joined if the Saotome heir could not inherit his art. Tendo would be crushed. More to the point, Nodoka would kill him-maybe Ranma too, if she decided he was unmanly.

He had some time. It was unlikely that they had positively identified Ranma in the short time they had. Ranma's fingerprints were not on record, and Genma had worn gloves when he broke the child out, so fingerprint identification was out. Ranma had never been to dentist before, so dental records were equally useless. Ranma had had footprints taken at birth, as was normal, but the hospital wouldn't have any from his visit-not in the condition he was in.

Nonetheless, Nodoka was expecting them to visit eventually. It was only a matter of time before she decided they had been gone too long. If she filed a missing person's report, someone would doubtless connect the dots. After all, Japanese people with blue eyes were quite rare, and two reports on a blue-eyed Japanese child of similar age going missing would be connected quite easily. The authorities would be looking for Genma Saotome, and he would become an outlaw. Or, at least, an outlaw of much higher priority. Worse, Nodoka would learn of what Genma had unintentionally done to their son. There would be no going back then.

Medical science could do little for Ranma. Even if it could, Genma couldn't risk taking him to a doctor. Doctors kept records, and usually lived in populated areas. Genma and Ranma couldn't be seen together by any authorities until Ranma was healed.

To that end, Genma would be forced to turn to the more _esoteric _arts. It was entirely possible that some obscure _ki_ technique or magic item would be capable of healing Ranma. With a little luck, it would only be a matter of time before they found one. Time that Genma could only hope that they had.

xXxXxXx

_One year later..._

A year had passed without much event. Genma had traversed much of Japan, collecting as many obscure techniques, scrolls, and items as possible. Unfortunately, many of them were stolen, which had lead many powerful people in Japan to become quite angry at him. On top of that, authorities were still looking for the boy who had gone missing from the hospital a year ago.

Fortunately, all that work had yielded some returns. While none of them could heal Ranma, they had found a number of items to help him cope. Several old, wrinkled scroll, titled had taught Ranma a number of magic spells. Most important was "Levitation," which, as the name implied, allowed Ranma to levitate and even fly around a little bit. His added mobility had allowed him to continue in his studies of martial arts to a limited degree- the Saotome Musabetsu Kakuto Ryu was a school that thrived in the air anyway. More importantly, Genma not having to carry him everywhere was a load of his back, quite literally. Not to mention it would make his next plan much easier.

It was obvious that their time in this country was quickly coming to an end. Well-populated areas constantly carried the risk of attention from the authorities, while sparsely populated areas were starting to carry a large risk of attention from the many hermits, monks, and martial artists that he had pilfered from. He did not want attention. Attention was bad.

It was time to swim to China. Or, for Ranma, fly/ride on daddy's back to China.

xXxXxXx

_Another year later..._

Yet another year had passed, with little in regards to progress being made. Ranma had continued to learn magic, and Genma had continued to teach his son some of the art while ransacking every hidden temple, monastery, and _dojo _that he could find.

Next destination- _Jusenkyo_. He had recently found a pamphlet about the place. Not only did it have something to do with martial arts, he recognized the _kanji _for "legendary" on the cover, and the _kanji_ for "magic" were all over the place. It sounded like the perfect place.

Finally, after some time of going hungry in the wilderness, they reached the legendary training ground. Ranma had tired of levitating a short while before, and was now sitting on Genma's shoulders.

Before them stood a valley filled with small springs, shining in the early morning light. Each spring had a bamboo pole sticking out of it, pointing skyward. The entire valley was totally silent- not even a cicada could be heard throughout. The air felt as though it were filled with static electricity, and each of the martial artists felt like someone was constantly staring over their shoulders.

All in all, it was a creepy place. Nevertheless, it seemed disappointing. After all, hopping around on bamboo poles _was_ good exercise, but it hardly seemed to deserve the term "legendary."

Genma sighed. "Boy, go look around while I practice on the bamboo." May as well make use of the grounds after all the time they took traveling here. Besides, there was something about magic in the pamphlet- maybe Ranma could learn something.

"Yes, _otousan_." Ranma replied, "_Levitation_." Ranma floated away over the springs.

Genma sighed again, and jumped up above the springs, to the top of the poles. Quickly gaining his balance, he began to leap from pole to pole. After a while, he began to grow rather bored._ I hope there's something more to this place than this_, he thought to himself.

No sooner had that thought passed through his head than he heard a muted splash in the distance. Genma began to hop in that direction, ready to hop in if he found that his son had fallen in. He nearly fell off of his pole when the entire valley began to tremble. He _did_ fall off his pool when the springs began to explode, each spraying a geyser of water up into the air, thoroughly soaking him.

Fortunately, he barely managed to kick off the pole as he fell down, and thus landed on dry ground. Unfortunately, he landed head first on a rock, and knew no more.

xXxXxXx

Ranma watched his father hop around for a moment before turning his attentions to the springs. He studied them for a moment before coming to a decision.

_I do _not_ like the feel of this place, _he thought to himself. _But I know better than to question father._

Levitating out over the spring, he cast out his senses. He could feel the magic in this place. Even without trying, he felt it. Actively trying, he confirmed his earlier suspicion. _This is a bad place. We need to leave._

Turning around to do just that, Ranma felt a strange tug on his body. The tug became stronger and stronger as Ranma frantically tried to fly away. _The spring is trying to pull me in!_ he realized. Frantically pushing his levitation spell harder and harder, he was utterly surprised when it cut out entirely. It wasn't the feeling of fatigue he had often felt after using too much magic, nor had he exceeded his capacity. It was just... gone.

In resignation, he took a deep breath, and plunged into the dark waters.

xXxXxXx

Ranma quickly realised that his attempt to swim with arms was futile. Without his legs or magic, he would drown. Frantically, he tried another spell he had learned, one he had never had to use before, praying that this one would work.

"_Aqua Breathe!_" he shouted. It came out more like 'aqblableethbla,' but, to his great surprise, it worked perfectly.

Ranma took in a couple grateful breaths of water, noting how weird the feeling was. The water burned into his lungs, and the burning seemed to spread throughout his body. In fact, it felt like what he imagined breathing water without a spell should feel like, except for the fact that he wasn't drowning. His obvious happiness at that last point faded slightly as everything began to go to Hell.

xXxXxXx

Mixing magic is a dangerous prospect. When working with magic, "one plus one" wasn't always two. It could be anything from "seven" to _e_**(cat)π**_**i**_. So, mixing a "crazy ancient water-based curse" with a "let me breathe under water" spell didn't quite combine into a "give me a wacky curse _while _letting me breathe under water" spell.

In fact, if only the immediate effects were accounted for, it seemed rather like the combination resulted in a "make an earthquake and a bunch of big-ass explosions" spell.

Ranma was fired out of the spring in a huge geyser of water. He felt the water doing something to him, as the burning he felt before spread to the very tips of his fingers, and as he felt his consciousness slipping. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

xXxXxXx

Ranma woke up to the feeling of warm water pouring over his head.

"Aiya! Young customer no change! This never happen before!" he heard a man shout nearby, in broken Japanese.

Ranma sat up and opened his eyes, wincing slightly at the light. He seemed to be in a small cottage of sorts, lying down in a hard bamboo bed. Right next to his bed, holding a kettle, was a portly Chinese man wearing a military uniform, who Ranma had never seen before. Farther away, scarfing down a small bowl of rice, was his father, who was giving him an odd look for some reason.

"Young customer very lucky! Springs very cursed! You could be change to animal, but you stay human! Very lucky!" the portly man continued enthusiastically.

"What are you talking about?" Ranma asked as his slid out of the bed and stood up.

"Every spring have tragic, tragic story. Your father fall in Xióngmāonìquán. Tragic story, very tragic, of panda who drowned there two thousand year ago! Now, whoever fall in, take body of panda!" he replied.

Ranma looked at the man skeptically. He looked over at his father. _Yep, still an old fat man, and decidedly not a panda_. "Ummm... He's not a panda," he replied evenly.

"Hot water turns panda back to man! But cold water makes him panda! Watch!" the man grabbed a glass of water, and threw it at Genma.

Ranma stared. The panda stared back. Ranma blinked a couple of times. _Yep, still a panda_.

"Wha... How?" Ranma managed to say. Oddly, the panda seemed just as surprised at _him._ "Can you turn him back?"

"Of course! Just hot water!" the guide poured the contents of a kettle over the panda, and _bam!_, instant Genma.

Ranma was speechless. Genma, however, was not. "Boy! How... You're standing!" he shouted.

Ranma looked down at his feet. _Well, would you look at that._

xXxXxXx

Three weeks had passed since the events at _Jusenkyo_. Genma had spent most of the time as a panda. Ranma had spent most of the time rejoicing over his regained legs, as well as touching up on his martial arts skills, utilizing his legs this time. He had been quite surprised at first, how natural walking was after all this time, but then noticed that Genma seemed equally natural at _being a panda_. As that was something that probably _shouldn't_ come naturally, he figured it was probably just an effect of the springs. _Well, whatever they did, those springs won't bother anyone else for a while, at least._ Oddly enough, the destruction of the springs seemed to rid the place of water entirely. Rather than raining down later, it simply vanished. The place was now left as a desert.

Nevertheless, they had stayed at the guide's house for a few weeks. Now that _Jusenkyo_ had been destroyed, there was little point to him remaining there, so he had gathered all of his belongings together, and prepared to leave with them. He said that he would guide them to a village where they could resupply, then they would set out from the area. Eventually, the guide and his daughter, Plum, would find a place to settle down and leave Ranma and Genma, who would return to Japan.

Ranma was somewhat sad to leave. A Great Thing had happened to him here- he had been healed. While the changes were odd- namely, his new orange hair and red eyes, not to mention that fact that he no longer even looked Japanese- they were nothing compared to what he had gained.

Ranma grinned evilly. Almost as important as regaining his legs, he had gained a way to shut his father up. Ranma had thought the "_Aqua Create_" spell was boring, and mostly unless when he had first learned it. It had taken on a whole new meaning when it became a "_Pandafy Genma_" spell.

Genma would be spending _a lot_ of time as a panda in the near future.

xXxXxXx

A/N: Ranma's bracers _totally _change size. Look at pictures of his forms aside each other. There's one on his Wikia page. Just thought I should mention that. It has nothing to do with the story. Or does it? You'll never know... Muwahahahahaha!1!~!111

More to the point, this is a story where I came up with the premise but haven't really fleshed out the plot. If you have any ideas, run them by me, or write a story with the same premise. Whatever floats your boat. :-) On the other hand, that makes it pretty open-ended, and I had quite a few ideas that I struck out (having _all_ of them happen at once would make everything _really_ cluttered and confusing). Some of them can be added at any point of the story, so I can always add them later if I run out of ideas. ;-) Honestly, though, I would love it if a better writer than me took this as a challenge to write a story with this premise (or a similar one). I like reading even more than I like writing.

Yes, he's taken the form of Lina, from _Slayers_. She was the one who drowned in the spring. This isn't really important to the story (yet, anyway). Note, however, that his appearance is that of an eight-year-old Lina, so it's not likely anyone will notice that he is a girl anytime soon (And being raised by Genma, he likely won't figure out either- I really doubt Genma gave him "The Talk," especially at eight, and he hasn't been around many children). Also, the spring is the same as in canon- originally he just turned into a girl, but he got the transformation changed when inhaled the water and then blew up _Jusenkyo_. Ranma's gender pronoun will usually be decided based on the point of view- i.e. it will be _he_ when Ranma is a girl if people think he's a guy.

With any magic Ranma uses (and his girl form's appearance), I'm more likely than not going to steal it from _Slayers_, or else make it up entirely. They have so many spells, it's a useful resource. That said, there aren't likely be any characters from that show in the near future. This comes as a nature consequence of the fact that I've never _seen_ that show before. 56 kb/s modem+crappy computer isn't conducive to streamed video, and I'm _way _too poor to own many DVD's. So, yeah, not many videos for me. On that same note, pretty much all of my Ranma knowledge is from the manga and and the Internet.

Despite the last two paragraphs, this isn't a crossover. If I make it a crossover in the future, I'll move it to the crossover section. Just think of these as cameos, if you will.

Also, he's learned some white magic, but is nowhere near the level needed to heal anything, much less his severely-damaged legs, when it becomes a moot point. And the guide didn't stop them because he wasn't awake yet.

Ranma's more polite because he's younger. I'll probably use Japanese for names and terms of address, but not much else. I don't like putting Japanese in English fics, but I don't like translating names, and it feels weird to leave names as is but translate terms of address.

On a science-y note, there are no pure-blooded Japanese with blue eyes. Evidence shows that the mutation in the OCA2 gene that causes blue eyes happened within the past 10,000 years or so, and all people with blue eyes seem to have descended from a common ancestor. Thus, Ranma must have a European ancestor or something, or have randomly had a similar mutation (the chance of which is _really_, _really_ low, but non-zero). Basically, the point of this is that blue-eyed Japanese would stand out. So, one missing from the hospital would be connected to a missing person's report rather quickly-this would be unlikely to happen if Ranma had no distinguishing characteristics.

God, that note was _way_ too long. I'm _so_ sorry.

The next chapter should be tomorrow. The author's note on that one will be _way _shorter. I promise ;-)

On totally non-science-y note, hope you enjoy the story.

Leila out.


	2. Chapter 1

Quick Note: I said in the prologue that I hadn't really fleshed out the plot. But, ever since posting, I've got a whole swarm of ideas. I don't think this story will be dying anytime soon. :-)

Idea Five

Chapter One

It was a calm, peaceful morning in Nerima, Tokyo. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and the cicadas were singing. All in all, it was a normal morning, like hundreds that had come before it.

Little did the unsuspecting residents know that it would be the last of its kind.

The tranquility of the morning was soon shattered by a fight breaking out in the streets. On one side was a slightly fat, and extremely bald, middle-aged man, donning a white bandanna around his bald and spectacles over his eyes. On the other side was a foreign-looking youth with a bright orange ponytail and dark red eyes. At first glance, one would think that he was a girl in boys' clothes, but everything else from the way he held himself to the way he spoke suggested that he was instead merely a very feminine-looking boy.

"Well, I still say the whole thing sucks!" the youth was shouting. "Picking my fiancee for me without even asking!" he finished as he slammed the older man into the ground.

"Boy, you will marry...!" the man was cut off as a ball of water appeared over his head, inexplicably changing him into a panda. The man continued on, heedless of his lost ability to speak, "_Growf growf growf_!"

"Suck on that, _oyaji_," the young man replied as he turned to walk away. "I'm going..." It was his turn to be cut off as the now-panda beat him over the head with a street sign.

xXxXxXx

Ranma woke up to an odd scene. Genma, in panda form, was chasing after what appeared to be a middle-aged man and a young woman, with himself slung over his furry left shoulder. Eventually, Genma set him down on the floor in front of the man.

The man looked at Ranma. "You wouldn't be...?"

"Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this," he replied, embarrassed at his panda of a father.

"At last! You've come!" the man, presumably Soun Tendo, shouted exuberantly, as he drew Ranma into a bone-crushing hug. "It's so good of you to come!"

"It's nice to meet you too," Ranma replied in a monotone. "Can I please breathe now?"

"Of course! Of course! And come in! You have to meet my daughters!" Soun began to guide him into the house when he stopped suddenly. "Come to think of it, where is Genma?"

"Right there," Ranma pointed at the panda. The Tendo family looked around the area where he pointed, but the panda was the only thing there.

"I may be missing something," one of the girls- the one with her hair in a pageboy cut- began. "But "your father" is a panda."

Ranma sighed, and pulled a thermos out of his backpack. "It's just a curse he got in China," Ranma began, pouring the steaming water on the panda. "Just pour some boiling water on him, and he's human again."

True to Ranma's words, in place of the panda was now a red-faced middle-aged man, wearing a tattered white _gi_, along with a pair of glasses and a bandanna over his bald head. "Boy! Hot water! Not boiling!" he shouted.

Soun blinked. He really wasn't sure what to say about that. Coming to a decision, he completely ignored the past minute and moved on. "Welcome to our house then! These are my three daughters:"

"Kasumi. She's nineteen," he started, pointing to the tallest of the girls. She was wearing a simple dress, and had her long hair tied in a ponytail with a simple ribbon.

"Nabiki. She's seventeen," he continued, pointing to the next. She had her hair in a pageboy cut, and was wearing a simple tank top and shorts combo.

"Akane. She's sixteen," he pointed to the final of the girls. She had long hair that ran down her back and was tied with a large bow, and was wearing a simple _gi_. Her face may have been cute had she not been scowling at the moment.

"Pick the one want. She's your fiancee," he finished.

Akane was puzzled for a moment. The boy in front of them didn't _seem _particularly perverted. In fact, he didn't even really look like a boy at all. Even his voice seemed girlish. Then, her father's final words sunk in. _He wants to marry us_, she concluded. _He must be a pervert after all_.

"Never!" she shouted dramatically. "You! Ranma Saotome, I challenge you!"

Ranma went rim-rod straight. He didn't want to fight this girl, but his code was clear. No backing down from a challenge. "Very well. I accept. What are your terms?"

Akane glared at the orange-haired boy. "We fight in the _dojo_. Anything goes. If I win, you leave me and my sisters alone!"

xXxXxXx

Ranma and Akane stood and faced off each other. At the spoken cry of, "Begin!" they erupted into movement.

Akane took several strikes at Ranma. _Not bad punches, but she telegraphs her moves_, he thought as he effortlessly evaded her every strike.

Soon, Akane's frustration reached a climax. She charged at Ranma, and punched out with a mighty strike... straight through the _dojo _wall.

Ranma, meanwhile, had leapt over her head, and placed a single finger on Akane's neck. "Do you yield?" he asked.

"Never!" she shouted. There was no way she would give in to a perverted boy. She was the strongest in Nerima!

Ranma sighed. He didn't want to hit her seriously, but he didn't think he could knock her out otherwise. Despite her inability to hit him, she was pretty strong, after all. Finally, a solution came to him. _She did say "anything goes."_

As Akane pivoted around, Ranma moved his hand to the top of her head, and quietly spoke. "_Sleeping_." Akane's body immediately crumpled as she collapsed into slumber.

Ranma laid her down gently before speaking. "I win."

"What have you done to my daughter?" Soun shouted, his head becoming distorted into some huge demonic monstrosity.

"She's just sleeping," Ranma replied honestly. "I can wake her up now." He whispered the last word, "_Counter-sleeping_."

Akane immediately woke up. _I... I lost..._ she thought morosely. _Now what can I do?_

Without really thinking, she followed the rest back into the house.

xXxXxXx

Ranma sighed forlornly as he leaned back in the hot water. Kasumi had convinced him to take a bath, and he had finally relented.

He had just been forced to fight a challenge, and been forced to defend his right to marry one of the Tendo daughters. The trouble with that was that he didn't _want_ that right. But, he had been challenged. Purposefully losing was something that never even occurred to Ranma, and the idea would have appalled him if it had. Nevertheless, he _almost _wished that Akane had managed to win by some crazy fluke. Then, he could leave and not have to worry about marriage anytime soon. But, he had won, and he was stuck here for now.

_Well, there's nothing to be done for it. I suppose I better go down and face the music,_ he thought as he stood up out of the water.

Right at that moment, the door slid open and Akane walked in. They both could only stare for a moment before Akane looked down, and shouted something he didn't quite understand.

"Yo-You're a girl!"

"W-what?"

xXxXxXx

Kasumi stared sadly at the orange-haired girl sitting in front of her. Not only did she not know the basic differences between boys and girls, it turned out that she was under the impression that she was actually a guy. Knowing that no one else would do, Kasumi had taken Ranma into her room to give her the Talk.

Half an hour later, a very embarrassed Ranma walked out of Kasumi's room, the color of her cheeks matching her red eyes to a T.

Meanwhile, a distraught Soun Tendo was lying down, tears gushing from his eyes. He had been informed by an exuberant Akane that Ranma was not a guy after all, and that they couldn't marry a _girl_. His dreams were shattered- now, the schools would never be joined.

While all this was happening, Genma was just plain confused.

xXxXxXx

Ranma had retreated to the backyard, and was now sitting by the _koi_ pond, contemplating. With Kasumi's explanation, there was no doubt that she was a girl after all. But, equally, there was no doubt that she had once been a guy.

Ranma had long ago discovered how to return to her original form. It was a spell that required very little magic power. The problem was that it required a great deal of concentration, and casting any magic or losing her concentration would return her to her post-_Jusenkyo_ form. Besides, at the time, it hadn't seemed that important. This form was easy to keep, and switching back and forth wreaked havoc on her balance.

Of course, that was before she learned that this form was female.

Ranma didn't really have a problem with being female. After all, even though she hadn't known at the time, she had been in a female body for half of her life now. Her problem was her father knowing that she was female. Generally speaking, Genma was a fairly honorable man, but he had no compunctions about "bending" his honor when it would give short-term benefit, ignoring any long-term consequences.

Ranma had little doubt that he would not hesitate to engage her to a new, _male _fiance, if the price was right. To avoid that, she would to have it make quite clear that she was still a guy (sometimes), and at least _try_ to make this engagement work.

To that end, she began to concentrate. A wind formed, and began to swirl about her as she rose into the air. After a few moments, it was over. Ranma took stock of the changes.

As it had been years since Ranma had bothered to change, he was in shock at how different his forms were now. His first thought was that he was very glad that he tended to wear loose clothes. He had grown nearly 10 centimeters, and despite the looseness of his clothes before, they were nearly bursting at the seams now. His hair had returned to its original color, and, though he could not quite make them out in his reflection in the _koi_ pond, he expected that his eyes had as well. Even more pronounced, his face had lost its distinctive foreign look, and he was quite clearly Japanese again.

_I guess it's time to go run damage control,_ Ranma thought as he walked back to the house.

xXxXxXx

"You _pervert_! Who would want to marry _you_?"

Ranma's 'damage control' had not gone well. Immediately upon explaining his situation to the Tendos, the older two had foisted him off on Akane. Despite his resolution to attempt to make the engagement work, he not continue to ignore the girl's continued insults.

"Who's a pervert?" he replied heatedly.

"You are!" she spat, her face red. "You looked at my body!"

"You walked in on me! Besides, you got a pretty good look at me, too!"

"But you were a girl! It's okay when a girl sees a girl!"

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "So why is it not okay that I saw you, then? I was a girl at the time, too."

Akane didn't seem to have an answer to that. Instead, she latched onto his last point. "And that too! You were taking a bath as a girl! That makes you a pervert!" she crossed her arms triumphantly.

"I'm sure you take a bath as a girl all the time," Ranma replied flippantly. "I suppose that makes you a pervert too."

"T-that's different!" Akane was rage was quickly shifting from the 'merely angry' range to the 'apoplectic fit' range. "I'm not a perverted _boy_!"

"No, you're clearly a perverted _girl_." Ranma replied in a bored tone.

It was at this moment that Akane's rage erupted. Picking up a table, she attempted to bash Ranma's head in.

Ranma did not like to hit girls, but he had no compunctions over defending himself against them. He quietly intoned, "_Windy Barrier!" _and had to bite back a laugh as the spell's effect knocked the table away, causing Akane to lose her balance and fall face-first onto the table. He vaguely noticed that his hair had returned to its orange color.

"I'm out of here. If _oyaji_ comes to his senses, he can come find me."

And with that, Ranma left.

xXxXxXx

A/N: Ranma's personality is somewhat different. One reason for this is that he's had more control over his life. In canon, Ranma can't consistently beat Genma until a good deal through the manga. On other hand, in this story, he has been able to beat Genma (with magic) for years now, if he really puts his mind to it. So, he's less content to let others control his life. The other main reason for this is that he's spent more time in society. After being cursed at _Jusenkyo_, Genma had little desire to continue their nomad lifestyle. While they still went on training trips, they lived a more static lifestyle than previously.

Also, not important atm, but Ranma is not afraid of cats. He was only thrown in the pit once, which, while traumatic, did not leave the lasting phobia that the continuous reinforcement in canon did. He would feel very uncomfortable if surrounded by cats in a dark place, but it would be a far cry from the all-consuming terror that would afflict canon Ranma.

Finally, Ranma has learned a great deal of shamanistic spells, but knows little white magic, and no black magic. He simply hasn't found many scrolls on the latter two schools.


End file.
